VOLUNTEER SPIRIT: Locals fulfill needs, lift hopes

May 4, 2013

Haley Burt poses after the 2013 Bald in the Boro event. / Submitted

Written by

Nancy De Gennaro

Dozens of nonprofits, faith-based initiatives and community organizations provide a variety of services to help others in Rutherford County. From street ministries such as Last Call 4 Grace to United Way, which provides an umbrella to assist other nonprofits, Rutherford County is full of people willing to help others in need. Here are just a few of the volunteers who give their time and money to make Rutherford County a better place to live and work.

Haley Burt

She did it again this year: Elementary student Haley Burt, 11, shaved her head as part of the Bald in the ’Boro fundraiser.

Proceeds from the event benefit the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, which raises money and awareness regarding childhood cancer. This year she got her whole family, including her mom, to go Bald in the ’Boro.

“I did it this year because my 6-year-old neighbor Alex Scoggins has (brain cancer). I felt I needed to help him,” Haley said. “You’re never too young to help.”

Haley also frequently updates Haley’s Acts of Kindness, a blog-type page on Facebook where she encourages others to do community service.

Her mother, Jackie Burt, said Haley is always looking for ways to help others. And “she’s a very determined little girl.”

Haley even managed to get Tom Kenny, who is the voice of Spongebob, to call her neighbor with cancer. “They also sent Alex an autographed poster and an autographed plush Spongebob,” Jackie said.

“My ultimate goal is, one, to find a cure for cancer, and two, to help kids in need, any child with cancer, special needs; just help them with anything they need,” Haley said. “I want people to know they shouldn’t be afraid to do anything, that anything is possible as long as you have God in your heart and believe you can do it, you can do anything.”

Florence Smith

At 73, Florence Smith of Murfreesboro is an example of volunteerism at its finest.

During the school year, she is at the helm of the front office at Bradley Academy School of the Arts. Outside of school, she volunteers doing whatever is needed at Wee Care Day Care Center and recently organized a program where men volunteer to read to the children. “They have a lot of women in their lives, but they don’t have a lot of men,” Smith said. Any reading or educational materials she can find, Smith picks up to donate elsewhere. In addition, she serves on the board, works as church secretary at Berry Chapel AME Church in Lynchburg, is a member of the church’s Missionary Society and sings in the church choir. The NAACP has Smith’s devotion as membership chair and she helps with all sorts of fundraisers.

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Cliff and Jane Sharp

After volunteering with agencies that serve low-income and high-risk residents, Cliff and Jane Sharp began their own outreach, Greenhouse Ministries. That was 14 years ago.

Today, the outreach has expanded to include a wide array of services, including food, counseling, housing programs, networking, as well as various educational classes.

“Planting Hope in the 'Boro is our motto,” Cliff Sharp said. “We have a philosophy at Greenhouse ... it does not matter what door people come in our building, they will be greeted with love and respect. This applies to our clients as well as volunteers or customers.”

Greenhouse Ministries also partners with the United Way of Rutherford and Cannon Counties as an annual VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) site, providing help to low-income families on preparing and filing their income tax returns.

Alpha Kappa Alpha

When it comes to volunteer efforts, there is strength in numbers.

That allows the 70-plus members of the Pi Nu Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority to have a far-reaching impact in the community.

Each year the local AKA chapter awards more than a dozen scholarships to Rutherford County high school seniors through the Ivy Enrichment Foundation. A large portion of fundraising benefits the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Fund of Rutherford County as well as a new scholarship in honor of community matriarch Mary C. Scales.

Members also volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, help with the Black History Quiz Bowl and Big Brothers, Big Sisters Foundation of Middle Tennessee. Additionally, each year women in AKA reach out to families in low-income housing with the Woman-to-Woman health workshop and partner with Saint Thomas Health Services Mobile Mammography unit.

Sorority sisters participate in walks, including the Special Kids 5K and the annual Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Walk.

Kim Milliken

“Clinton’s Clubhouse is a house ... where families who have been affected by childhood cancer can come for free to receive support,” explains Lori Woodard-Hoyt, president of Clinton’s Club, a nonprofit created to honor the memory of pediatric cancer patient Clinton Milliken. “There’s nowhere for kids (in Middle Tennessee) to go during treatment.”

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Group and individual counseling is offered for adults, siblings and children with cancer. Even if a child is no longer living, families can get support at Clinton’s Clubhouse near La Vergne.

The clubhouse is a longtime dream of Kim Milliken, whose 7-year-old son, Clinton, died Jan. 19, 2012, after a two-year battle with medullablastoma.

The idea for the clubhouse was born from Milliken’s observation that Middle Tennessee needed a place where pediatric cancer patients being treated in Nashville and their families could convene.

“The thought behind Clinton’s Club is to have a place where we can build a sense of community,” Milliken says.

Part of the club includes Colors of Hope, a line of nail polish inspired by another Rutherford County cancer victim, Taylor ‘Tay’ Filorimo.

Candy and Garry Carter

After seeing the heartache of the homeless in Murfreesboro, Candy and Garry Carter knew they couldn’t just sit back and do nothing.

"I started seeing all the men and women who were struggling and I started taking food and rolling down my window and saying, 'Hey, have you eaten today?' I started building relationships with them," says Candy, who used her own money to buy food.

From those earliest efforts to reach out to those in the community without permanent housing, the Carters eventually started the nonprofit Last Call 4 Grace. The faith-based ministry feeds homeless and motel residents twice a week and also offers counseling.

Daryl Mackin

Patriotism runs deep for Daryl Mackin of Murfreesboro.

When he realized the child of fallen soldier Marc Golczinski, who was photographed at his father’s funeral by The Daily News Journal, had to face birthdays without a father, he was heartbroken.

"I thought, that boy's never going to have what my sons have. Marc's gone. It just hit me. It seemed like such an injustice. What he died for, I get to live out for my kids," Mackin says.

Mackin founded A Soldier’s Child birthday foundation, which provides birthday and Christmas gifts for children of fallen soldiers until they turn 18, thanks to the generosity of others who donate gifts and items to the program.

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Tairra and Grant Gofourth

If there’s a way to volunteer, Tairra Gofourth is likely to show up with her gang to help.

And she’s eager to take her kids along so they, too, can learn the importance of community service. Husband, Grant, is right there supporting his wife, as well.

In 2011, the Gofourths started The Cupcake Crew as a “way to reach into the community and teach children about volunteerism.” Tairra and a crew of volunteers made gourmet cupcakes and presented the homebaked goodies to local heroes, from veterans to emergency personnel, and even a 6-year-old bone marrow donor.

At the end of last year, Tairra saw a need to reach out to homeless children in the school systems. With the help and direction of Leslie Walker, they started Club Youth Empowerment Services (YES). Over Christmas, a party was held for homeless children and an Easter festival was held in March.

One of the biggest needs, she said, is one-on-one mentoring with the children who “just need a little bit of time” with someone who cares.

Jenny Williams

Jenny Williams grew up in Murfreesboro and, 11 years ago as a Blackman High School student, recognized a need and founded the Candle Wishes Foundation.

Candle Wishes is a local 501(c)(3) nonprofit ministry with the mission to share the love of Christ by fulfilling birthday wishes and providing essential needs for 700 underprivileged children each year in Rutherford County.

Through a partnership with the Salvation Army, families who participate in the Angel Tree program at Christmas are given the opportunity to sign up for Candle Wishes. Participating families are also recommended by school guidance counselors. Individuals in the community sponsor the children and provide their birthday gifts, which the children receive at the monthly birthday parties sponsored by groups in the community.

Jenny and her husband, Nathan, have two boys, Ryder and Finn. They are active members of River Oaks Community Church. Jenny also serves as marketing director for Guaranty Trust Co. and is owner of The Whimsy Willow, a local photography business.

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She hopes to see Candle Wishes grow to add more children to the 700 already served each year and needs your support to make her dream a reality.

Gloria and Thom Christy

If you’ve ever been to Uncle Dave Macon Days, you’ve seen the fruits of Gloria Christy’s labor.

For the past 29 years, she’s been at the helm as president of this old-time music and dance festival held each July.

She’s also well-known for her family’s business, Shacklett’s Photography on the Public Square, which has chronicled decades of life in Murfreesboro.

Gloria’s husband, Thom, is involved with Community Crossroads, a networking nonprofit that connects service-based agencies and faith-based initiatives in Murfreesboro.

The Christys also work weekly with Celebrate Recovery, a faith-based recovery program, and organize the NightWatch worship every New Year’s Eve.

Both are using connections with UDMD and Community Crossroads to expand the reach of local agencies at a Community Services Fair during the three-day festival. “It’s about being entertained, but also being informed about issues in the community,” Gloria said.

Some days are challenging to juggle all of the volunteer efforts, she admits.

“So much has been given to me,” she said. “Part of our humanity is giving back and part of me being fulfilled. ... Giving back is just part of paying it forward.”